<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Prologue: The Next Day by TheFoolsYouSee</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26958694">Prologue: The Next Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoolsYouSee/pseuds/TheFoolsYouSee'>TheFoolsYouSee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>After Blood And Souls [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Owl House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:20:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,407</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26958694</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoolsYouSee/pseuds/TheFoolsYouSee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the escape from the Conformatorium, Lilith has to deal with her new place in the world, and with the consequences of her actions.</p><p>Meanwhile, Luz plans her next move in the fight against Belos, and discovers a new mystery in the piece of his mask she took with her.</p><p>And Eda's sister and apprentice still have their own score to settle.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>After Blood And Souls [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967302</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>137</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Images flashed and overlapped. A fight over a bridge. Her sister transforming into stone. A confession in another world. A reunion.</p><p>Cold blue eyes staring down at her.</p><p>Lilith burst awake and sat up on the couch. After remembering where she was, she slowed her breaths and looked around; light was seeping through the narrow windows of the Owl House, the stained glass casting colourful lights about the clutter of the living room. Lilith sank her head back down again on the pillow that was laid against the arm of the couch.</p><p>"So it wasn’t a dream," she sighed.</p><p>After forcing herself up, she opened the front door and stood letting the cold morning air brush against her face.</p><p>"Good morning, harsh reality," she muttered to herself. The door shifted slightly in her hand, and the round face of an owl peered around the side, smiling madly at her.</p><p>"GOOD MORNING!" it screeched.</p><p>Lilith yelped and slammed the door shut. Every previous encounter of hers with Hooty had been in combat of one form or another; she definitely couldn’t handle him right now.</p><p>She turned back to the small pile of things that had been left out for her, picked up the towel and unfolded the dressing gown that lay beneath it. There were studs laid into the back that made out the words 'BAD WITCH'.</p><p>"Ugh," Lilith groaned, but put it over her arm and headed towards the stairs.</p><p>She closed the bathroom door behind her, and paused when she spotted her reflection in the mirror. She ran a finger over the grey streak that now swept back from her right temple through her dark blue hair. Then she touched her cheek just below her right eye, which had gone from a pale blue to a dull grey. She supposed she’d discover the rest of the price for her decision soon enough.</p><p>By the time she came back into the living room (reluctantly wearing the dressing gown), the sun was fully up and she could hear muffled voices outside, one of them familiarly high and grating. Lilith glanced around; the house was quiet and still, and no-one else seemed to be up yet. She sighed and went over to the door to open it.</p><p>Squinting in the now-bright sunlight, she looked down and was surprised to see a face she knew; it was Amity Blight, a Hexside student she had used to mentor in preparation for joining the Emperor’s Coven one day.</p><p>The girl started in shock when she saw her. "Madame Lilith!" Amity’s eyes flicked up and down, seeming not to know whether to settle on her ex-teacher’s bleary face, clumsily tied dressing gown, or hair. Lilith lifted a self-conscious hand to her head; she’d not gotten to her straightening ritual yet and her messy bun was starting to expand.</p><p>"Good morning Amity," Lilith said with as much dignity as she could muster. The last time they’d seen each other had ended with the two parting on awkward terms; Lilith had given the girl a power glyph without her knowledge in order to win a duel and the act had been publicly revealed, embarrassing the student. The older witch suddenly realised how little she’d learned from her mistake with Eda all those years ago, but pushed the thought from her mind. She spotted that the girl was holding an envelope, which was quickly tucked back into a pocket.</p><p>"Is there something I can help you with?" Lilith asked.</p><p>"Oh, no, I just got my cast taken off, so I wanted to… it’s okay, I’ll come back later." Amity turned her reddening face away and started quickly walking off, her arms held stiffly at her sides.</p><p>Lilith sighed. Another reminder of her now-destroyed career. Perfect.</p><p>"<em>I tooooold her I could take it!</em>" Hooty stretched himself around from his indentation in the front of the door again. "<em>But some people are too good to have their letters smushed up inside me!"</em></p><p>Lilith gave him a narrow look. Then she slammed the door shut again.</p><p>Turning back, she saw Eda stretching as she passed the doorway from the hall, wearing a baggy sweater, a long, stained skirt and bunny slippers.</p><p>"Oh, morning Lily," the other witch yawned. "I hope the night critters didn’t give you too much trouble." She ambled through another doorway, her slippers making a scratching noise against the floor as she dragged her feet, and Lilith followed.</p><p>As they both entered the kitchen Eda opened the fridge to grab a carton of apple blood, pointing a finger towards a pile of mugs on the counter and drawing a lazy circle in the air. One of the mugs glowed with a golden outline and hovered in the air for a second. But then it dropped back down onto the counter, rolled off and crashed to the floor.</p><p>"Oh, yeah," Eda muttered as she looked from her finger to the smashed pieces of china. "<em>That</em>."</p><p>"Here, let me," Lilith quickly drew her own circle in the air, and the broken pieces of mug lifted off the floor and threw themselves into the trash can.</p><p>"Thanks." Eda had picked up another mug from the pile and was now sipping from the dark red liquid she had poured into it. Her own now-mismatched grey and golden eyes were both fixed on the floor.</p><p>"Edalyn…" Lilith wasn’t sure how to acknowledge everything that had happened over the last couple of days, as well as the revelation of what she’d done when they were children. Only the previous night Eda had said that she would tear her sister apart, and Lilith fully believed she would have.</p><p>The silence was broken by the sound of Luz coming in. Lilith caught the human’s eye for an awkward second before quickly busying herself getting a mug from the pile on the counter. The girl turned to Eda, broke out into a beaming smile and pounced on her, flinging her arms tightly around her mentor.</p><p>Eda grinned. "There’s my fearless champion! C’mere!" She wrapped her own arms around Luz and lifted her up, squeezing her tight.</p><p>Eda looked so natural and relaxed as she spun Luz around, laughing. Lilith had seen her sister engage in every kind of foolish behaviour, but she’d never seen her look so… loving. Eda let Luz down, but kept her hands on the girl’s shoulders.</p><p>"Rescuing a convicted criminal from a fortress and taking on the Emperor yourself?" Eda gave an exaggerated bow. "I hereby surrender my position as head of the Bad Girl Coven."</p><p>Luz giggled, before glancing at Lilith again. "Well… I wouldn’t have stood a chance against Belos if Lilith hadn’t given me your staff." The girl gave her an awkward smile, and the witch nodded back and raised her mug in acknowledgement. Was that an appropriate response? This house seemed much more touchy-feely than she was used to.</p><p>Eda’s eyes turned to her staff, which was leant up against the kitchen wall. She picked it up and gave it a twirl.</p><p>"I guess I’ll be relying on this thing a lot more from now on," she said, and gave Luz a thoughtful look. "Maybe it’s time we became a two staff household."</p><p>Luz’s eyes widened, and she let out an excited squeal, bouncing up and down on the spot. Eda grinned proudly, before catching Lilith’s unhappy look.</p><p>"<em>Three</em> staff household, I mean, of course," she added.</p><p>"That’s not a good idea," Lilith drained her mug and set it aside. "No matter how much power or potential a witch has, they need a complete education before they can be trusted with such an important tool. She’ll get her staff when she graduates Hexside."</p><p>Eda put her hand on her hip. "Don’t you think besting the Emperor is a bit above anything those dweeby kids can do?"</p><p>"I think that won’t be the last time we face him." Lilith stood up and walked over to Luz, looking down at her. "And if you are to survive the next encounter, you’ll need to be fully trained."</p><p>"All the more reason to start getting her used to a staff <em>now</em>." Eda patted a confident hand on Luz’s shoulder.</p><p>Lilith looked the human up and down. She had certainly shown skill and ingenuity at the Conformatorium, and had managed to briefly get the upper hand in their own short battle. Although, she reminded herself firmly, that had only been because the girl had surprised her.</p><p>"I will teach you, then." Lilith quickly realised she’d been presumptive, and looked to Eda. "Forgive me sister, but I’m not sure you could do much more for Luz in terms of… <em>practical</em> lessons."</p><p>Luz shot a nervous glance at the grey-haired witch, who shrugged. "She’s got a point, kid."</p><p>Lilith laid a declarative hand on the human’s shoulder. "After your daily lessons at Hexside, I will continue to train you in everything you will need to face the Emperor again. My magic may also have been weakened somewhat, but I can teach you the tactics you will need to win. And at our next encounter with him, we will defeat Belos with discipline and control."</p><p>
  <em>PING!</em>
</p><p>Lilith’s hair tie had snapped; her still-expanding bun had exploded into a puffy blue mass that obscured half her face.</p><p>Luz slapped a hand to her mouth to hide a giggle, whereas Eda openly howled with laughter. After wiping the tears from her eyes she put an arm around Lilith’s shoulder.</p><p>"Come on, I’ll help you," she said, leading her sister out of the room. "Hey, remember when Mom would try to braid it for you?"</p><p>Lilith was glad that her hair was hiding her red face, but was also glad of her sister’s affectionate touch. It had been so long since they had been on the same side. Perhaps things weren’t so bad here after all.</p><hr/><p>Luz knelt down on the cafeteria table, slamming her hand upon it.</p><p>"And as the hands pulled me down, I put a glyph on the floor, keeping it hidden until the time was right." She paused, looking around at the rapt faces of the students who had crowded around her, making sure to let the tension build before she continued. "Then, when he came close enough I moved my hand away, and an ice spike shot up from the glyph, hitting him right in the eye!"</p><p>A gasp sounded across the crowd. Luz stood back up on the table’s top and put her hand in her tunic pocket, getting ready for the reveal.</p><p>"His mask cracked, and a piece of it fell to the floor. <em>This</em> piece!"</p><p>She held the shard of metal aloft and the crowd gasped again, starting to whisper to each other.</p><p>"I know everyone says the Emperor is invincible," she continued, "but he’s not. He’s a tyrant, and the only reason he wants everyone in their own coven is so he can control you! But together we’re stronger than him. You don’t have to listen-"</p><p>Luz stopped at the sound of someone clapping. The recognition was nice, but she’d been hoping to get to the end of her speech before the applause broke out. The human looked around to find the source and saw Principal Bump walking towards them.</p><p>"Very entertaining, Miss Noceda," he said as he stopped clapping. "That we should all have such imagination. But maybe you should dream a little less fantastically than surviving a duel with Emperor Belos."</p><p>"But Principal Bump-" Luz began, but as he reached her Bump plucked the piece of Belos’ mask from her hand.</p><p>"I think you’re done with your story," he said firmly. "Now, the rest of you should get to class."</p><p>The students started to disperse, but Luz was glad to see they were at least giving each other questioning glances and muttering excitedly. She hopped down from the table and started to follow them out of the cafeteria.</p><p>"Not you, Luz," Principal Bump grabbed her shoulder. "I want a word with you."</p><hr/><p>Luz let the door to Bump’s office swing shut behind her, and approached his desk as he took a seat behind it.</p><p>"I wasn’t lying, Principal Bump, it really happened!" she said. "Willow and Gus said you were there in the crowd, you must have seen his mask-"</p><p>"Oh, I believe you Luz," Bump cut her off, his eyes on the piece of metal that he was still running through his fingers.</p><p>Luz frowned. "You do? Then why didn’t you want me telling anyone?"</p><p>"Hexside isn’t directly controlled by the Emperor’s Coven," he replied, "so I have a certain amount of freedom in how I run things here. Like letting pupils study multiple tracks." He gestured to the multitude of colours on the sleeves and legs of Luz’s uniform pointedly. "However, if word gets back to them that students are being riled up in a rebellion, then all that will be over."</p><p>"But that’s exactly why we <em>have</em> to fight back!" Luz protested. "Because the system is bad!"</p><p>"It’s certainly very impressive that you held your own against Belos," Bump acknowledged. "Despite being a human, you clearly have a skilled understanding of magic. But not all of your classmates are fighters; some just want to be bards, or beast keepers, or potion brewers. It’s my job to look after <em>all</em> my students, and if the Emperor hears that there are some at Hexside who are against him, then he’ll come after us all."</p><p>Luz tapped her fingers on the desk, frustrated, but remained silent; she knew he had a point. Bump sighed and leant back in his chair.</p><p>"The four of you are lucky that you’re no longer wanted criminals after your escape. If you really are planning on fighting Belos again, then I suggest you lay low for now and use the time to make a real plan. And perhaps you should start by taking a closer look at <em>this</em>."</p><p>He slid the piece of the mask across his desk and Luz picked it up, turning it over in her hand. For the first time she noticed the tiny writing engraved in the metal, only two letters coming out from the edge, like it was the end of a word that had been cut off: ‘em’.</p><p>A clue. Luz’s thoughts raced ahead to when she’d be able to get home; Lilith might be able to shed some light on what it meant. She glanced up at Bump.</p><p>"You clearly don’t like him either," she said.</p><p>"No," Bump replied. "But I have children to protect."</p><p>An explosion boomed below them, and a pincer-mouthed student suddenly burst up through the floorboards up to their waist, wearing a now-charred yellow Potions track uniform and holding a still-smoking vial. The student gave a weak smile and a thumbs up, but the movement made them shift against the floorboards and they fell back down through the hole with a yelp. Bump stood and went over to it.</p><p>"Great job, Janey!" he called down. "Walk it off and try again!" He looked up at Luz and waved her away. "Now, off you go, I’ve kept you from your classes long enough."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Luz stomped a little as she left her final lesson. She’d planned to spend the whole day spreading the call to arms to students in her various classes, but after her talk with Bump she’d found herself reluctant to bring it up with anyone else. She remembered the terror she’d felt when Eda had been in danger, and when she looked around at the faces of the other teenagers around her she felt a pang of fear for each of them. She wondered how their families would feel if they didn’t come back from a battle. She wondered how her own mother would feel.</p><p>But Belos needed to be stopped. Even though he didn’t get the portal, he clearly had plans for the human realm and Luz knew he would find some other way to get there. She played with the metal shard in her pocket with resolve.</p><p>"Luz."</p><p>The human girl looked up and started in surprise to see Lilith stood before her in the school corridor. The witch was now back in her grey robes, her dark hair neatly swept down her back again, and was stood pressing her fingers together.</p><p>"It’s time for our first lesson," she said.</p><p>"Oh, okay," Luz responded. "I actually had something I wanted to show-"</p><p>"We can discuss it afterwards," Lilith interrupted. "Follow me."</p><p>The two made their way out to the Grudgby field. The stands were mostly empty, apart from a small cluster of figures sat together in a spot on the front row. Luz squinted at them and recognised Eda, King, Gus and Willow waving at her.</p><p>"They wanted to come and support you," Lilith explained unsmilingly. Luz saw her friends all raise striped blue and white flags that matched her hoodie.</p><p>"<em>I nearly got mauled by the Glandus Cerberus to get these, but it was worth it!</em>" Gus called out to her.</p><p>Luz smiled and waved back to them. She glanced around the rest of the stands, but couldn’t find the shock of seafoam green she was looking for and sighed with disappointment; she’d heard Amity had gotten her cast off now, but hadn’t seen her all day.</p><p>"You will need to avoid distraction and <em>focus</em>," Lilith scolded. "I’ve heard you’ve been boasting about landing a hit on Belos. Let’s see if you can do it again."</p><p>She walked out a short distance to the centre of the field and stood facing Luz with her hands behind her back.</p><p>"Hit me," she instructed.</p><p>Luz toyed her hand over the front clasp of her satchel where she kept a supply of pre-drawn glyphs, unsure of whether she should obey. She still had complicated feelings towards her mentor's sister; it had only been a couple of days since the witch had kidnapped her and used her as a disposable piece of bait. She glanced over at Eda in the stands, who raised her staff in the air supportively.</p><p>"<em>Kick her butt, Luz!’" </em>the grey-haired witch yelled to her.</p><p>Luz grinned and opened her satchel, running her fingers over the inside pockets as she chose between them. After making her decision, she removed her hand and ran forward.</p><p>She feinted to the right before going left; Lilith followed her movements and dodged correctly, but the human still managed to clap her hands together next to the tall woman's face. A flash exploded from the light glyph between her palms and Lilith stumbled back, blinking the spots from her eyes. A cheer went up from her friends, but Luz kept her eyes on her opponent. She quickly flicked forward the second glyph she'd been holding behind her fingers, held it out against her palm to point at the now-unsteady witch, and tapped it with her other hand.</p><p>A fireball burst out from the charring paper, but Lilith leapt out of its path, keeping her hands behind her back. She regained her balance and turned to face Luz again.</p><p>"Hit me," she repeated.</p><p>Luz glared at the pale woman and snatched a stack of fire glyphs out from her satchel. She held them outward in one hand and slapped at them with the other as she ran a circle around her target. More flaming bursts fired out, Luz tapping the next glyph after each one had been used up. But Lilith sidestepped and dodged each one, never bringing her hands forward even when Luz tried to double-back and surprise her. Then she suddenly ran at the human and leapt up – Luz had to lean back to avoid the boots that flew over her head and lost her balance, falling to the ground. She scrambled up to her knees and turned to see Lilith watching her, still infuriatingly composed.</p><p>"Hit me!" the witch said again, insistently.</p><p>Luz felt a frustrated growl rise in her throat. <em>I’ll hit you alright</em>, she thought. <em>Right in your big dumb forehead.</em></p><p>She grabbed into her satchel again, fired out another ball of flame, slid forward as her opponent ducked under the shot, then slammed a second glyph onto the ground before quickly pulling her hand away.</p><p>A spike of ice burst up from it towards Lilith's face, but the witch twisted out of the way and grabbed the spike's point, snapping it off. She swiped it at Luz, who had to jump back to avoid being sliced in the face.</p><p>"You can’t keep using the same tricks!" Lilith said as she continued swiping the weapon at her frantically dodging opponent. "Belos will learn your moves, you’ve got to adapt! You've got to be unpredictable!"</p><p>The pale witch swung her other hand forward and a bolt of blue lightning shot out of her palm. Luz yelped in surprise and jumped out of the way, and had to leap aside again to dodge a second bolt. She glanced at the stands and saw her friends' eyes wide and anxious, their flags now lowered.</p><p>"Come on, human!" Lilith taunted as Luz danced away from more of her blasts. "Where’s that aggression? Belos will take your friends! Your family! Your home!"</p><p>Luz spun away from the last bolt and cried out with rage, charging and swinging her fist at the tall woman. But Lilith simply turned to the side, letting the girl sail past.</p><p>A hot blast knocked into Luz's back and she let out a shriek of pain, tumbling forward onto her knees. When she looked up again, her opponent was standing over her, palm still held forward.</p><p>"HIT ME!" Lilith yelled.</p><p>A golden blast hit the witch like a cannonball and she was thrown across the Grudgby field, smashing into the stands behind her. Luz heard gasps of surprise from the small group in the stands and turned her head to see where the magical bolt had come from.</p><p>Eda was stood on the pitch, her staff still aimed at her sister.</p><p>"<em>Don’t. Touch. Her." </em>she snarled.</p><p>Eda’s staff shook in her hands, which were trembling with anger. When Luz looked over at the crushed section of the stands, she could see fear in Lilith's eyes even from this distance.</p><p>After a few long seconds, Eda lowered the staff and helped Luz up from the ground.</p><p>"Come on kid, let’s go," she said firmly and put her hand on the girl’s shoulder, guiding her away. Luz felt her mentor's fingers grip tightly through her uniform, digging unrelentingly into her skin.</p><hr/><p>Eda sat on the couch, waiting. Luz had protested that she was fine, but the Owl Lady had insisted that her apprentice take a hot bath to soothe her back. She'd also sent King out to forage for the first random ingredient she could think of; she didn't want anyone interrupting the conversation that was about to happen.</p><p>The front door opened a crack and Lilith’s face peeked nervously through.</p><p>"It’s alright Lily, come in," Eda nodded, and Lilith slowly stepped inside, closing the door behind her.</p><p>The dark-haired witch stood where she was as the seconds passed in silence, seemingly unsure as to what to do with herself.</p><p>"She’s fine, by the way," Eda said pointedly.</p><p>Lilith nodded. "She’s resilient, for a human."</p><p>Anger flared in Eda’s chest again at the complete lack of an apology, but she pushed the feeling down and took a breath.</p><p>"I thought I’d be okay with you training Luz to fight," she began. "But when I actually saw it happening... it just brought back everything from the bridge."</p><p>Lilith shifted uncomfortably at the reminder of their deadly fight outside the Emperor’s castle. "Yes, I suppose it would." She slowly came towards the couch and sat down too.</p><p>Eda lowered her eyes. "I’ve been trying to pretend things are okay between us because I hoped that would make it true," she continued. "But they’re not. And I know you took on the curse too to save me, and I’m grateful for that. But..." Eda had to take another, shaking breath before she could go on. "...that doesn’t change all the painful things I went through because you gave it to me in the first place."</p><p>She looked up at Lilith, and tried to ignore the vindictive part of herself that was taking pleasure in the anguish on the other woman’s face.</p><p>"What I realised today," she went on, "is that I still need time before we can try and fix things between us. And that means… you can’t live here."</p><p>There was another moment of silence between the two sisters.</p><p>"I see," Lilith’s voice eventually came, sounding very small. Eda kept her eyes on the floor, letting the silence continue until the other woman eventually stood up from the couch again.</p><p>"You can get the elixir you need in the market," Eda said as she heard the door open. "Find a guy called Morton, he’ll help you."</p><p>"Thank you, Edalyn," Lilith replied.</p><p>Another pause.</p><p>"I really am sorry."</p><p>Eda folded her arms, still not looking up. "Yeah, I know."</p><p>She heard the door close, and didn’t lift her gaze until she heard footsteps charging down the stairs. She quickly wiped her eyes before Luz came into the living room, now dressed again, her hair damp and glistening.</p><p>"How’s your back?" Eda asked.</p><p>"Eda, it's fine!" Luz huffed. "Did I hear Lilith come in?"</p><p>"Yeah, but… we won’t be seeing her again for a while."</p><p>"Oh." Luz seemed to read the expression on Eda’s face and understand its meaning. The girl's hand went to her pocket, but she didn’t say anything. Eda could feel something welling up again and quickly turned to pick up an envelope from the coffee table.</p><p>"By the way, your friend left this for you while you were in the tub." She handed it to Luz before busying herself tidying a pile of clutter.</p><p>"Amity!" Luz exclaimed delightedly as she recognised the writing on the envelope, and tore it open. In the corner of her eye Eda could see the human scanning over the note inside as she continued tidying.</p><p>"Uh… I think I’ve got to go," Luz looked to Eda uncertainly. "Unless you want me to stay for dinner?"</p><p>Eda forced a smile. "No, you go have fun."</p><p>She watched the girl head out the door before sitting down heavily on the couch again. Alone in the house once more.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>